


hopes and dreams

by BoisterousBattlecat



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canon Scene, Character Study, Gen, Internalized gender roles, Tifa Week 2020, confessing your feelings? sounds fake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoisterousBattlecat/pseuds/BoisterousBattlecat
Summary: The night the first time she sneaks out is portentous, vivid with color and bright with a thousand stars.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Kudos: 21





	hopes and dreams

**Author's Note:**

> _Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight. — glitter in the air by pink_
> 
> Betaed by the magnificent [sanctum_c](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c)!

The night the first time she sneaks out is portentous, vivid with color and bright with a thousand stars.

Tifa’s buzzing with the thrill of violating her curfew, almost makes a game out of not being seen, and though she tells herself it’s because she doesn’t want to get into trouble, she knows in her heart that it’s really because she wants the excitement.

He’s still waiting for her when she finally does arrive, looking down at the village and legs spread out in a way that’d be inappropriate for anyone wearing a dress.

“Sorry I’m late,” Tifa says. One of his arms shifts a bit, but other than that she can’t see his reaction. She ought to do something after taking so long to arrive, so she goes to sit on the well’s edge as well, looking over the village’s entrance with a beautiful vertigo.

Cloud’s legs kick idly in the edges of her vision. She turns to face him. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something?” she says, wondering if it’s a love confession.

It’s a bit odd, a bit fluttery, to think of Cloud, the quiet boy who never speaks to anyone, as interested in her. Yes, it wouldn’t be so bad—“Come this spring… I’m leaving this town for Midgar.”

Oh. Oh, is that a yes or a no to the confession…?

Tifa’s legs swing, smooth but thin. “All the boys are leaving town.” It’s a statement, but inside her own mind it’s almost like a plea for him to stay, even though she’d depart too if her father weren’t so overprotective.

Cloud shakes his head. “But I’m different from them. I’m not just going to find a job.” He gets up, crosses his arms and stands broad-legged. “I’m going to join SOLDIER.”

Tifa’s gaze flickers up to him, and for a moment she’s struck wordless at how much he’s telling her.

Before she can think of a response, he turns to face the village and speaks again, louder this time, almost as if he’s addressing everyone. “I’m going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!”

It’s an audacious declaration. “Sephiroth…” Even in Nibelheim, everyone knows his name. “The great Sephiroth?”

But Cloud, eyes glimmering from starlight, sky blue, electric blue, maybe almost _mako_ blue…

If anyone could do it, it’d be him.

Cloud climbs up to the top of the well with a grunt she barely notices. “Isn’t it hard to join SOLDIER?” She wants him to tell her that there’s no way someone like him could fail.

“Mm,” Cloud acknowledges, voice still confident. “I probably won’t be able to come back to this town for a while.”

And when he does, he’ll be in a purple first class uniform, large sword strapped to his back, sauntering up to the town gate… 

She giggles in a burst of nervous energy, and leans back, looking up at the endless constellations.

“...huh?” Cloud says.

All these legends locked in the sky forever… “If you make it, will you be in the newspapers?” Everything important (really, _truly_ , important) is in the newspapers these days.

“I’ll try.”

He still sounds so certain, and she believes him. Wants to believe him.

“Hey,” Tifa says, turning to him despite how her dress catches. “Let’s make a promise.” He doesn’t reply, but she’s in too deep to stop now. “Umm…” Her gaze casts to the stars. “If you get really famous and I’m ever in a bind…”

A gentle breeze blows, ruffling her hair. It’s a cold night but she’s so very warm. “You’ll come save me, all right?”

“What?” Cloud says, and she supposes that’s to be expected since it’s a girl’s fantasy, not something that his parents would have ever read to him.

“If I’m ever in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me.” She can feel her ears burn saying it out like this. “I want to experience that at least once.”

“What,” Cloud repeats, almost stuttering now.

Please just answer already, her heart’s thrumming like a caged hummingbird—

“Come on!” Tifa bends over to look him in the eyes. “Promise me!”

For once, his eyes are wide. He considers for a few seconds, swallowing slightly, before giving a single grave nod. “All right…” His voice is quieter than before, but the way he says the words makes them hold a power they didn’t have before. “I promise.”

Cloud nods once again. A shooting star burns in the sky above them. And Tifa asks for him to come down and sit with her.


End file.
